Tow hitch insert and cover

ABSTRACT

The present invention is for a tow hitch insert assembly that allows for natural dangling and swinging motion of an elongated member from a trailer hitch. The elongated member can be of a variety of shapes and in one version is a replica of testicles. The elongated member is coupled to an insert tube main body by a rod that extends through the tow hitch insert assembly. Surrounding the rod are springs on each side, sandwiching the elongated member, which allows for oscillation of the elongated member within the tow hitch insert assembly. In another version, the elongated member is secured via a slotted plate, and the elongated member has a spheroid top wider than the slot of the slotted plate, which permits the elongated member to slide and rotate within the tow hitch insert assembly.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/235,887, filed on Dec. 28, 2018, to Brian Shin, which claims benefitof U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/611,318, filed Dec. 28,2017, the contents of each are incorporated by reference in theirentireties.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

None.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present invention relates to parts for a hitch insert for a vehicle,and in particular, parts for a tow hitch insert and cover for a vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Tow hitch inserts and covers are well known in the art. Many individualsuse the tow hitch not for its intended purpose of attaching a load, butinstead, use the hitch, insert and cover to attach a humorous article toentertain individuals driving behind the vehicle.

One such humorous article is that of replica bull testicles to make itappear that the vehicle has testicles dangling from the rear of the carbody. However, merely attaching replica bull testicles or otherornamental structures to the hitch does not show the lifelike sway of anatural body part, and often are not secured well to the trailer hitch.Previously, in order to give the natural bouncing and danglingappearance of replica body parts, the consumer has had to attacharticles using unsecured means, such as a wire that would thread throughthe top of article and connect to the vehicle by twisting the wire.However, thieves could easily cut or untwist the wire that connectedarticles to the vehicle.

There are many types of trailer hitch cover assemblies. U.S. Pat. No.6,945,551 to Blake describes a trailer hitch cover assembly for a hitchreceiver including a main body operatively connected to a hitch tube,and adapted to allow insertion of a hitch into the hitch tube. U.S. Pat.Nos. 3,780,546 and 3,410,580 to Longenecker describe types of locks thatlock the insert cover to the trailer hitch assembly. A removable trailerhitch security system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,889,062 to Albisa.Another trailer hitch and lock assembly is described in U.S. Pat. No.6,402,181 to Lee. Novelty items have also been placed on the rear ofvehicles, such as “Golf Nuts” that dangle from the rear of a vehicle, asdescribed in U.S. Patent Application No. 20100015367A1 to Mitchell.However, while many of the references above attempt to solve some needsof a user, they do not provide for a secure system that enables one toattach an elongated member, such as replica bull testicles, to be bothsecure and have the natural appearance of bouncing and dangling from therear of a vehicle.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

One general aspect includes a tow hitch insert assembly that can lockonto a trailer hitch to prevent theft. The tow hitch insert assembly hasan insert tube main body with a proximal end, a distal end, a top side,a bottom side, and an insert tube main body aperture. The insert tubemain body is adapted to fit within a hitch tube opening of a trailerhitch. The insert tube main body aperture is located near the distal endof the main body, and is adapted to allow passage of a lockpintherethrough, whereby the lockpin is operable to lock the tow hitchinsert assembly to the trailer hitch. The tow hitch insert assembly alsohas an elongated member connected to the proximal end of the insert tubemain body.

In one aspect, the elongated member has a top region, a bottom region, aright side, a left side, and a recess on the bottom region at leastpartially separating the right side from the left side. In anotheraspect, the elongated member resembles animal testicles.

In another aspect the insert tube main body has a proximal end, a distalend, and an insert tube main body aperture. The insert tube main bodyhas an insert tube main body channel along a length of the insert tubemain body. The insert tube main body is adapted to fit within a hitchtube opening of a trailer hitch. The insert tube main body aperture isadapted to allow passage of a lockpin therethrough, whereby the lockpinis operable to lock the tow hitch insert assembly to the trailer hitch.The tow hitch insert assembly also includes an elongated memberconnected to the proximal end of the insert tube main body, theelongated member having a aperture to fit the lockpin. The elongatedmember has a top region, a bottom region, a right side, and a left side.The tow hitch insert assembly also includes a rod disposed within theinsert tube main body channel and also includes first spring member anda second spring member. The rod is disposed within the inner coils ofthe first spring member and second spring member. The first springmember and the second spring member sandwich the top region of theelongated member. The first spring member and the second spring memberallow the elongated member to oscillate along the rod by providingspringed force that allows the elongated member to slide along the rod,yet be pushed back toward the center of the rod, thereby giving anappearance of natural body part side-by-side, or forward-back movementto the elongated member.

In one aspect, the rod is a bolt extending through the insert tube mainbody and the bolt has a bolt head and a threaded region adapted toconnect a nut operable to secure the bolt to the insert tube main body.The assembly may include at least one washer disposed along the bolt.The washer, or washers, may be disposed in a number of locations to helpsecure and dissipate force along parts of the assembly when tightened,including between the elongated member and the first spring member, theelongated member and the second spring member, the bolt head and theinsert tube main body and/or the nut and the insert tube main body.

In one aspect, there may be a slot to permit the elongated member topass through the insert tube main body along the bottom side of theinsert tube main body.

In one aspect, the rod is disposed at least partially within the inserttube main body channel along a width of the insert tube main body. Theremay also be a panel within the insert tube main body operable to attachthe rod to the panel.

In yet another aspect of the tow hitch insert assembly, the insert tubemain body has a proximal end, a distal end, an insert tube main bodyaperture, and an insert tube main body channel along a length of theinsert tube main body. The insert tube main body is adapted to fitwithin a hitch tube opening of a trailer hitch, and the insert tube mainbody aperture is adapted to allow passage of a lockpin. The elongatedmember is connected to the proximal end of the insert tube main body andhas an aperture where the lockpin can be inserted. The elongated memberhas a top region, a bottom region, a right side, a left side, a spheroidtop, and a neck below the spheroid top, the neck having a diameternarrower than a diameter of the spheroid top. The tow hitch insertassembly also includes plate adapted to fit within the insert tube mainbody channel, the plate having an opening adapted to fit the neck of theelongated member. The diameter of the spheroid top is larger than awidth of the opening, thereby permitting rotational movement of theelongated member, but preventing the elongated member from fallingthrough the opening. In one aspect, the plate is a slotted plate, andthe opening is a slot, thereby permitting rotational movement of theelongated member and allowing the elongated member to slide along theslot.

In yet another aspect, the tow hitch insert assembly has a panel withinthe insert tube main body for attachment of the plate.

In yet another aspect, the tow hitch insert assembly has an insert tubemain body cap adapted to attach to the insert tube main body, and capthe insert tube main body channel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a tow hitch cover witha fixed elongated member capable of being inserted into a trailer hitch;

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded view of an elongated member connected toa spring assembly;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 2 positionedalong the width of an insert tube main body;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the elongatedmember connected to the spring assembly along the length of the inserttube main body;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of another embodiment of the elongated memberwithin a slotted plate within the insert tube main body;

FIG. 6 is perspective view of FIG. 5, assembled within the insert tubemain body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The invention now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of theinvention are shown. This invention may however be embodied in manydifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “on”another element, it can be directly on the other element or interveningelements may be present therebetween. As used herein, the term “and/or”includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associatedlisted items.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third etc.may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions,layers, and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers,and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms areonly used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer, and/orsection from another element, component, region, layer, and/or section.

It will be understood that the elements, components, regions, layers andsections depicted in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting of the invention.As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” or “includes” and/or “including” when used in thisspecification, specify the presence of stated features, regions,integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do notpreclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/orgroups thereof.

Furthermore, relative terms, such as “lower” or “bottom,” “upper” or“top,” “left” or “right,” “above” or “below,” “front” or “rear,” may beused herein to describe one element's relationship to another element asillustrated in the Figures. It will be understood that relative termsare intended to encompass different orientations of the device inaddition to the orientation depicted in the Figures.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein have the same meaning ascommonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which thisinvention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such asthose defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted ashaving a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context ofthe relevant art and the present disclosure, and will not be interpretedin an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so definedherein.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described herein withreference to idealized embodiments of the present invention. As such,variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, forexample, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to beexpected. Thus, embodiments of the present invention should not beconstrued as limited to the particular shapes of regions illustratedherein but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example,from manufacturing. The invention illustratively disclosed hereinsuitably may be practiced in the absence of any elements that are notspecifically disclosed herein.

Turning to the Figures to describe embodiments, FIG. 1 illustrates anembodiment where the tow hitch assembly 100 has an insert tube main body20 fixed to elongated member 2. The tow hitch assembly in inserted intoa trailer hitch assembly 200 that has a trailer hitch tube 28, a hitchtube insertion end 30 that has a hitch tube opening 32, and lockpinaperture 34. The tow hitch assembly is inserted into the hitch tubeopening 32 and the insert tube main body aperture 24 is aligned with thelockpin aperture 34 of the trailer hitch assembly 200. To lock theinsert tube main body 20 to the trailer hitch assembly 200, a lockpin 36is inserted. Lockpins are well known in the art and a variety oflockpins can be used in the present embodiment, such as those describedin U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,546 to Longenecker, U.S. Pat. No. 3,410,580 toLongnecker, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,402,181 to Lee, each incorporated byreference in their entireties, for all purposes. As the insert tube mainbody 20 slides through the hitch tube, the lockpin aperture 34 of thehitch tuber aligns with the inert tube main body aperture 24. Whenaligned, the lockpin 36 can be inserted through both, and locked (suchas by key or other means) so that the insert tube main body 20 cannot beremoved from the hitch tube 28 without unlocking the lockpin 36.

Using lockpin with an elongated member 2 connected to an insert tubemain body 20 is advantageous because when users attempt to attachelongated members to trailer hitch assemblies, they attach them with awire that is not secure because it is not lockable. In the presentembodiment, the elongated member is secured or coupled to the inserttube main body 20 through a coupling member 15, such as a screw, nail,bolt, or any means to connect one piece to another means. The couplingmember 15 goes through the elongated member 2 at the elongated memberaperture 14. One can also envision that the elongated member 2 ispermanently attached, such as by welding, or other means.

The elongated member 2 can be of a variety of forms, but a form thatconsumers would appreciate is in the shape of testicles so that itappears that the vehicle has testicles dangling from the rear of thevehicle, which extend below the trailer hitch assembly 200 of a vehicle(not shown).

The elongated member 2 has a top region 12, a bottom region 6, a rightside 10 and a left side 4. To give the appearance of testicles, there isa recess 8 on or along the elongated member 2 that at least partiallyseparates the right side 10 of the elongated member 20 from the leftside 4 of the elongated member 20.

Turning to the insert tube main body 20, the insert tube main body 20has a proximal end 18, a distal end 22, a front side 16, a bottom side26 and a top side 19. The elongated member 2 is attached to the proximalend 18 of the insert tube main body 20. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, theelongated member 2 is fixed and does not dangle or sway relative to theinsert tube main body 20. In other embodiments described below, theelongated member 2 can move, swing, and/or rotate relative to the inserttube main body 20.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate one embodiment ofan elongated spring member assembly 400, and when connected to theinsert tube main body 20, forms one embodiment of the tow hitch coverspring assembly, where the elongated member 2 can bounce, oscillate orsway relative to the insert tube main body 20. The insert tube main body20 has an insert tube main body channel 50 along the length of theinsert tube main body 20. The insert tube main body 20 is adapted to fitwithin the hitch tube opening 32. A rod 38, which can be a bolt, isdisposed within the insert tube main body channel 50. The embodiment hassprings, which may include a first spring member 44 a, and a secondspring member 44 b that sandwich the top region of the elongated member12. The first spring member 44 a and the second spring member 44 b allowthe elongated member 2 to oscillate and bounce along the rod 38, therebygiving the appearance of natural body part movement to the elongatedmember 2. To secure the rod 38 to insert tube main body 20, there can bea bolt head 48, opposite a nut 49. The bolt head 48 is adjacent thesecond washer 46 b, and the nut is adjacent a first washer 46 a. A thirdwasher 56 a and fourth washer 56 b are adjacent opposite sides of thetop region of the elongated member 12 between the springs 44 a, 44 b andthe elongated member 2. The bolt 38 has a threaded region 42 where thenut 49 can be threaded and tightened to the bolt 38. The rod 38 can beinserted through a proximal end hole 39 in the proximal end 18 of theinsert tube main body 20 so that the bolt 38 can be secured through theinsert tube main body 20. Though not depicted in FIG. 3 and the inserttube main body 20 can extend beyond the elongated member spring assembly400, but is shown as cut off at that position to so the entirety of theelongated member spring assembly 400 and elongated member 2 can be seein full view.

The insert tube main body bottom side 26 may have an insert tube mainbody opening or slot 52 so that the elongated member 2 has space todangle and swing along the width and/or length of the insert tube mainbody 20. In the spring assembly with insert tube along the widthembodiment 300 as shown in FIG. 3, the insert tube main body 20 can beinserted in the same way as previously described and shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates a similar embodiment to FIG. 3, but the elongatedmember spring assembly 400 is positioned length-wise instead ofwidth-wise within the insert tube main body 20, showing the tow hitchcover spring assembly along length embodiment 500. By being placedlength-wise relative to the insert tube main body 20, the elongatedmember 2 can swing and oscillate at least partially back and forthrelative to the length of the insert tube main body 20 instead of thewidth. The elongated member spring assembly in FIG. 5 does not have totraverse the entirety of length of the insert tube main body 20, but canbe attached to an insert tube main body panel 54 that is positionedwithin the insert tube main body 20.

Embodiments can be envisioned that provide the option of attaching theelongated spring member assembly 400 or tow hitch cover spring assemblyalong length 500 in either a length-wise or width-wise orientationrelative to the insert tube main body 20.

Turning to FIGS. 5 and 6, FIGS. 5 and 6 show a swiveling elongatedmember embodiment 600 that allows rotation and sliding of the elongatedmember 2 within the insert tube main body 20. In this embodiment, theelongated member 20 has a spheroid top 56 and a neck 58 below thespheroid top 56. Also included is a plate 60 adapted to fit within theinsert tube main body channel 50. The plate has an opening 62 adapted tofit the neck 58 of the elongated member 2. The diameter of the spheroidtop 56 is larger than the opening 62 of the plate, thereby permittingrotational movement of the elongated member 2, but preventing theelongated member from falling through the opening 62. In one version,the plate 60 is a slotted plate 60 and the opening is a slot 62, therebypermitting rotational movement and sliding movement of the elongatedmember 2 along the slot 62. The insert tube main body 20 in thisembodiment, as well as the other embodiments, may be covered by aninsert tube main body cap 64 that fits over the end of the channel 50 ofthe insert tube main body 20 to close it off. The cap 64 may be weldedor permanently or non-permanently secured by well known means.

The components of the invention may be made of a variety of materials,such as plastics, metals, synthetic and natural materials.

Features described above are not necessarily specific to the embodimentin which it has been described, but may be incorporated into any of theembodiments described or claimed below.

The following reference numerals are used throughout FIGS. 1-6:

-   -   2 Elongated member    -   4 Left side of elongated member    -   6 Bottom region of elongated member    -   8 Recess of elongated member    -   10 Right side of elongated member    -   12 Top region of the elongated member    -   14 Elongated member aperture    -   15 Elongated member coupling member    -   16 Front side of insert tube main body    -   18 Proximal end of insert tube main body    -   19 Top side of insert tube main body    -   20 Insert tube main body    -   22 Distal end of insert tube main body    -   24 Insert tube main body aperture    -   26 Bottom side of insert tube main body    -   28 Hitch tube    -   30 Hitch tube insertion end    -   32 Hitch tube opening    -   34 Lockpin aperture    -   36 Lockpin    -   38 Rod/Bolt    -   39 Proximal end hole    -   40 Threaded region    -   48 Bolt Head    -   49 Nut    -   50 Insert tube main body channel    -   52 Insert tube main body slot/Insert tube main body opening    -   54 Insert tube main body panel    -   56 Spheroid top of elongated member    -   58 Elongated member neck    -   60 Plate/slotted plate    -   62 Plate opening/slot    -   64 Insert tube main body cap    -   100 Hitch cover assembly    -   200 Trailer hitch assembly    -   300 Spring assembly with insert tube along width    -   400 Elongated member spring assembly    -   500 Tow hitch cover spring assembly along length    -   600 swiveling elongated member embodiment

While the invention has been described in terms of exemplaryembodiments, it is to be understood that the words that have been usedare words of description and not of limitation. As is understood bypersons of ordinary skill in the art, a variety of modifications can bemade without departing from the scope of the invention defined by thefollowing claims, which should be given their fullest, fair scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A tow hitch insert assembly which is locatedunder of a rear bumper in the center of a vehicle, the tow hitch insertassembly comprising: a) an insert tube main body having i) a proximalend, ii) a distal end, iii) a top side, iv) a bottom side, and v) aninsert tube main body aperture, wherein the insert tube main body isadapted to fit within a hitch tube opening of a trailer hitch, andwherein the insert tube main body aperture is adapted to allow passageof a lockpin therethrough, whereby the lockpin is operable to lock thetow hitch insert assembly to the trailer hitch; and, b) an elongatedmember connected to the proximal end of the insert tube main body,wherein the elongated member has i) a top region, ii) a bottom region,iii) a right side, iv) a left side, and v) a recess on the bottom regionat least partially separating the right side from the left side, whereinthe elongated member top region includes an aperture and a couplingmember that goes through the aperture and fixedly secures the elongatedmember top region to the proximal end of the insert tube main body suchthat the bottom region is directed downward and the elongated memberdoes not dangle or sway relative to the insert tube main body, whereinthe elongated member resembles animal testicles.